Harry Reid Has Change of Heart Over Budget

Senate Democrats have not passed a budget for over 1,000 days. Their motivation for not passing a budget is to ignore the entire process in which the Senate votes on 12 separate appropriations bills in regular order. This spares them the embarrassment of putting out 12 bloated spending bills, opting instead to roll them all into one omnibus bill at the end of the year.

Just two weeks ago, Harry Reid announced that he won’t even allow a budget resolution to come to a vote on the Senate floor this year. He asserted that the Budget Control Act, which set discretionary spending at $1.047 trillion for FY 2013, is tantamount to a budget! Now he is having a change of heart:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday said he would work with Republicans to ensure that all 12 appropriations bills for fiscal 2013 are brought to the floor for debate and votes.

“The Republican leader and I have talked individually, personally, away from everyone about the need to get this done for the integrity of the Senate,” said Reid, speaking from the Senate floor.

What a difference an election year makes. Reid wisely understands that this will be an albatross around their necks, so he is showing some signs of bending on his opposition to regular budget order. Now let’s see if he has the guts to formulate a full budget with a 10-year frame. It’s doubtful that he’ll agree to such a budget because it will show nothing but trillions in debt for years to come.